Adjacent to a golf course path on the middle of the course.

A highly polished brass plaque attached to a large upright field stone.

The memorial specifically remembers Staff Sergeant Irving D. Katz, a crewman on the B-17 'Snafuperman' (42-107118) of the 20th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group; the memorial also lists the entire crew of the B-17.

On August 29, 2944, the 15th Air Force conducted "Mission 263",  a raid on the Moravska Ostrava industrial complex (current-day city of Ostrava).  Nine B-17Gs from 2nd Bomber Group were attacked by 89 German fighters, and 20 minutes late,r eight of them were shot down and crashed in Slovakia (1), Czech Republic (7), and one crashed landed in Hungary.  41 US airmen lost their lives, 28 of them were buried in a mass grave in Slavicin. Four fliers evaded capture, and 55 airmen ended up in German POW camps. All the planes of the 20th Bomber Squadron were shot down that day, which is known as the 'Air Battle over the White Carpathians'.  B-17 'Snafuperman' crashed in nearby Metylovice, Czech Republic. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR): 7987.

Two of the crew of B-17 'Snafuperman' were KIA; the rest were taken POW.

The crew of B-17 'Snafuperman' (42-107118) included:

A memorial also remembers the other crewman KIA, Sgt Russel Payne.  See: Sgt. Russell I. Payne Memorial -B-17 'Snafuperman' (42-107118) Mission 263 at Site: Palkovice Woods

Search "Mission 263" for memorials and other cenotaphs associated with this event on our website.

Several museums in the area also remember this battle.  See sites: Sanov; Slavicin, and Bojkovice.

For more information the  about see the Air Battle over the White Carpathian website at: www.leteckabitvakarpaty.cz 

Special thanks to Mission 263 - Aug 29,1944 / Letecká bitva 29.8.1944 Facebook page & group for remembering this battle and for the several memorials that remember this mission.

The text on the plaque is inscribed in Czech and English.  The English reads:

In memory of

IRVING D. KATZ

Gunner on B-17 G-118

who died here on this spot

on August 29, 1944

The lower plaque reads:

IN MEMORY OF THE BRAVE

AMERICAN PILOTS

William T. Garland

Leo A. Zupan

William G. Hayett

Albert E Novak

Irving D. Katz

Jesse L. Barker

Ralph E. DeWitt

Russell I. Payne

Robert C. Hoadley

Charles F. Griffin

Crew Members of the Bomber B-17G -118

Who were brought down over Celedna on August 29, 1944